Pressroom
September 21, 2010
Kankakee County Regional Planning Commission Announces $358,588 in Energy Efficiency Grants
KANKAKEE, IL —As part of a State and Federal effort to help local governments in Central Illinois become more energy efficient and conserve resources, the Kankakee County Regional Planning Commission (KCRPC) has partnered with the Illinois Association of Regional Councils (ILARC) to provide $358,588 in Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funds to the following applicants: Kankakee Community College $80,750; Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School $115,323; Manteno Public Library District $3,834; Manteno Community Fire Protection District $48,978; Bradley Fire and Police Departments $30,000; Bourbonnais Fire Protection District $50,808; and Kankakee County Courthouse $28,895. The funding is available as part of an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) obtained from the US Department of Energy by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
This program will fund up to 75% of eligible projects. Funding will be used by applicants to install or retrofit public buildings with energy-efficient improvements such as new lighting, high-efficient HVAC systems, and replacing doors and windows. These projects will not only conserve energy but also save taxpayer money in the form of lower utility bills.
Many projects will begin by early October with all projects required to be completed by March 31, 2012.
July 24, 2010
KANKAKEE, IL — Addressing local manufacturers, state and federal legislators, and others today in Limestone, Economic Alliance of Kankakee County President and CEO Mike Van Mill urged a continued resolve to ensure common sense industry regulation. The event, held at a Vulcan Materials’ quarry, recognized recent amendments to the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act, H.R.5663, supported by U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson to exclude aggregate, sand, gravel and mineral mines. The original bill, which made no distinction between the unique safety needs of underground coal mining and non-coal mining operations, would have posed an undue economic hardship on local mining firms and a potential threat to local jobs.
Following is an advance transcript of Van Mill’s comments Saturday:
“In its 150 year history, Kankakee County has enjoyed a strong manufacturing base. This very successful foundation built incredible community wealth and a high quality of life for residents of Kankakee County.
“Only recently, within the past 25 years, have we seen our economy shift from manufacturing- to predominately service-orientated employment. With this shift in employment, our economy has become 1) less stable and predictable and 2) supportive of lower-paying jobs.
“Our changing local economy makes economic development challenging and heightens the sense of urgency to remove barriers that inhibit capital investment, corporate growth and business innovation.
“Bottom-line: To ensure a stable local economy, we need to encourage and build our manufacturing base with high-quality, sustainable manufacturing jobs.
“To that end, we must support legislation at federal and state levels that removes barriers to growth and levels the competitive playing field of global competition in order to protect and build jobs.
“It is encouraging to witness legislation that does this. I want to thank all of our legislators who support and advance these objectives.
“Last, I would like to acknowledge and thank Vulcan Materials. The recent announcement that the company intends to invest and grow jobs in Kankakee County is extremely exciting. We at the Alliance stand ready to assist in any way possible.
“I would also be remiss if I didn’t add that Vulcan is a true partner in this community. From supporting and sponsoring events across our county to taking proactive action to build communication networks with neighbors around its plants, Vulcan consistently exemplifies itself as a true responsible corporate citizen of Kankakee County.”
The Economic Alliance of Kankakee County, a public/private partnership, aspires to create jobs and expand the economic base by improving the business climate. The Alliance actively supports the retention and expansion of existing businesses and endeavors to attract and recruit new businesses. Learn more at www.kankakeecountyed.org. Phone 815.935.1177. For media inquiries, contact Lisa Wogan, 815.472.4159, k3alliancepr@gmail.com
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June 16, 2010
Governor Quinn Signs Law to Aid Illinois Workers
EAST ALTON – June 16, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that will give Illinois workers a boost during times of high unemployment in the state. House Bill 6349 requires entities receiving state funds or funds administered by the state for public works projects to hire at least 90 percent of their workers from Illinois.
Click here to read the full article
May 26, 2010
Riverside Medical Center Rated Among Nation’s Elite Hospitals
KANKAKEE, IL–(Marketwire – May 26, 2010) – For the third year in a row, Thomson Reuters has named Riverside Medical Center as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. The south Chicago hospital was also recognized as an Everest Award winner. This award is reserved for 100 Top Hospitals that have achieved an even higher level of performance. Riverside Medical Center is extremely honored, as only 23 hospitals across the country earned the Everest Award.
The 100 Top Hospitals award recognizes the Chicago south suburbs hospital for having achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance and operating efficiency. The winners were identified through an in-depth analysis, in which a Thomson Reuters study evaluated the Kankakee County hospital and 2,925 other hospitals in ten different areas. All of these short-term, acute care and non-federal hospitals were evaluated in mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfactions, adherence to clinical standards of care and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia.
Click here to read the full story
May 17, 2010
Hopkins Park: Job fair nets more prospective workers
By Mike Frey
mfrey@daily-journal.com
815-932-5299
There is no shortage of people who want to work in Kankakee County, and the “Put Illinois to Work” program has given residents a chance to do so. The key now is to find employers to match them with, said Joel Simone, economic development specialist of the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County.
When contacted Friday afternoon, Simone had just returned from a job fair held at the East Central Restaurant in Hopkins Park. While the event had not yet ended when Simone left, he said some 200 prospective employees had signed up. The program offers employment for parents and young people ages 18-21 who meet specific income guidelines. It offers assistance to area businesses, nonprofits and government agencies in the form of free workers. It is being administered by Family Focus, the Chicago-based charity administering the federally funded economic stimulus program.
The jobs will pay $10 per hour and employees are expected to work between 30 and 40 hours per week. The jobs can start as soon as matches are made and can last until September. Simone said the next step in the process is to attract more employers.
“This program desperately needs employers to sign up,” Simone said. “We got the demand from the employees.” Simone said more than 600 job seekers have already signed up, and that number could grow as high as 1,200.
The next step is to get more employers, and an informational session scheduled for Friday at Northfield Square mall in Bradley is intended to get more firms on board. Simone said all businesses large and small are encouraged to take part. From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. that day, organizers will sign up employers. From 1 p.m. until 2 p.m., more prospective employees can sign up.
May 10, 2010
Economic Alliance of Kankakee County
Community Energy Systems for Economic Development
Request for Information and Qualifications
The Economic Alliance of Kankakee County (the Alliance), acting on behalf of the County of Kankakee and the City of Kankakee, is seeking information and qualifications from firms capable of the design, development, construction and operation of an energy production facility within the County or City of Kankakee and a conceptual design of such a project. The Alliance, at its discretion, may qualify one or more Firms to receive an RFP or engage in negotiations after this RFQ process; which may or may not result in energy purchase agreements or other agreements being awarded with respect to the conceptual projects.
This RFQ is focused on innovative, community-level or larger, energy supply solutions. The Alliance’s preference is for systems able to utilize locally available resources including but not limited to municipal solid waste, biomass, or coal. This RFQ is not intended to solicit wind or solar energy projects. The energy product produced may take the form of electricity (grid or non-grid connected), synthetic natural gas, or high-grade liquid or solid fuels. The Alliance will seek to identify one or more such projects that can provide cost-effective energy, as well as other quantifiable, local or regional benefits such as improved reliability or job creation. The project design need only be conceptual, with best estimates with regards to requirements, capacity, performance, costs, timelines, etc.
Copies of the complete RFQ may be downloaded from:
Kankakee RFQ (436.2 KiB)
or requested from the RFQ Administrator at:
Kankakee Community Energy RFQ Administrator
Patrick Engineering, Inc.
300 West Edwards St., Suite 200
Springfield, IL 62704
Phone: 217-525-7050 Fax: 217-525-7053
rswager@patrickengineering.com
May 7, 2010
Illinois Senate creates Illinois and Midwest High Speed Rail Commission
by Laurent Pernot
The Illinois Senate today voted 59-0 to create Illinois and Midwest High Speed Rail Commission for issuing a roadmap for the creation of bullet train lines in Illinois and neighboring states. Under General Assembly rules, such a commission can be created by a vote in just one of the two legislative chambers. No further legislative action is required.
The resolution creating the Commission, Senate Resolution 806, defines the group’s mission as “recommending the best governmental structure for a public-private partnership to design, build, operate, maintain, and finance a high-speed rail system for Illinois and the Midwest.”
Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, said, “This commission must make it a priority to plan for bullet trains going 150 miles per hour or more to supplement planned Amtrak upgrades to 90 to 110 miles per hour. California and Florida are actively planning for bullet trains, and Illinois must become the next state to do so.”
Earlier this week, mayors and county officials from across Illinois issued an open letter to fellow elected officials that said, “We urge you to work actively to secure approvals and funding for the planning and implementation of a Chicago-St. Louis 220-mph high speed rail line. This line would bring our business, research and government capitals within less than 1.5 hours of each other, and open vital new connections to O’Hare Airport.” The letter also was sent to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
Signing the letter were:
- Jay Dunn, Chairman, Macon County Board
- Nina Epstein, Mayor of Kankakee
- Al Larson, Mayor of Schaumburg
- Robert McCleary, Village President, Savoy
- Michael McElroy, Mayor of Decatur
- Martin Moylan, Mayor of Des Plaines
- Barrett Pedersen, Mayor of Franklin Park
- Toni Preckwinkle, Alderman, Chicago’s 4th Ward, Democratic Presidential Nominee, Cook County Board
- Hon. Laurel Prussing, Mayor of Urbana
- Gerald Schweighart, Mayor of Champaign
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association proposes to transform the Midwest into one cohesive, compact economic entity with a network of 220-mph bullet trains with Chicago at its heart, including a St. Louis to Chicago line that would serve Edwardsville, Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, Kankakee, the Southland, McCormick Place, Downtown Chicago and O’Hare Airport. Traveling time from Chicago to St. Louis would be 1 hour and 52 minutes.
The bullet trains would connect with both Amtrak and rapid transit at key points.
An expert economic impact study by the Midwest High Speed Rail Association found that a 220-mph high speed rail link between Chicago and St. Louis via Kankakee, Champaign, Decatur and Springfield would create 40,000 jobs and grow Downstate economies by 1 to 3 percent. The project also is estimated to take 200 million pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere each year.
May 4, 2010
Main Street movement needs funding
Kankakee County stakeholders read with concern recently of the placement of the Illinois Main Street Program on Landmarks Illinois’ “Most Endangered” list. Severe underfunding by the state for the last several years has resulted in the program being placed in probationary status by the National Main Center, which operates under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We in economic development equate potential Main Street charter loss with the deceleration of vital community-based economic development initiatives, both locally and statewide.
As trends in economic development have shifted toward more sustainable practices of strategic infill, entrepreneurial support and existing asset maximization, development officials have come to better appreciate Main Street’s preservation-based model. Economic developers are also increasingly aware of the real value of heritage tourism, a booming sector of our state’s overall tourism market, which exceeded $30 billion in 2008. And, of course, few initiatives can match the return on investment of a largely locally funded, volunteer-driven program the likes of Main Street. The program reports that member communities have generated more than $400 million in downtown reinvestment and created more than 4,800 jobs since Illinois Main Street’s 1993 inception.
In our current economic climate, established and proven community-based solutions like Main Street should be maintained, even expanded upon, not casually abandoned.
Repercussions of Illinois’ expulsion from the Main Street program would be considerable. Member communities in states whose charters have been revoked may lose the privilege of using the “Main Street” name, a devastation to which anyone who has invested years building a brand can attest.
In rural areas with relatively limited resources, a local Main Street program has significant impact, serving as a vital partner in the economic development landscape. Here in Kankakee County, for example, the executive director of the Main Street Momence program is a member of the Economic Alliance Board of Directors. The training and counsel that she receives vis-à-vis her affiliation with Illinois Main Street is, thereby, shared with the larger community, boosting the collective economic development knowledge base. Budget cuts have meant limited training opportunities, as well as few design services, for Illinois Main Street towns.
Main Street Momence is, in fact, one of Kankakee County’s most active and engaged nonprofit economic development organizations. Main Street Momence pursued and achieved National Register of Historic Places status for its downtown district in 2006 and was awarded a combination USDA/county grant of $149,000 last year to establish a dedicated low-interest revolving loan fund. The group’s status as an Illinois Main Street member was a key factor in these achievements, both of which are vital economic development incentives for Momence and Kankakee County.
Despite serious threats to the program, we are confident that Gov. Quinn’s continued strong support coupled with the oversight of industry professionals in the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where Illinois Main Street is now housed, will result in a full restoration of program funding and services to the state’s 60-plus Main Street communities.
Michael J. Van Mill is the President/CEO of the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County, which aims to create jobs and expand the local economic base by improving the Kankakee River Valley business climate. The Alliance actively supports the retention and expansion of existing businesses as well as the attraction and recruitment of new companies. Contact the Alliance at (815) 935-1177.
April 6, 2010
Project Update: Riverside Medical Center Continues Work on the New East Tower
“During the month of February, concrete and steel erection were the main activities,” said Dave Puent, Director of Corporate Facilities Management at Riverside. “Underground plumbing, electrical, concrete forming and steel decking installations were all in progress. Things are progressing nicely.”
Riverside’s East Tower addition will create 12 newly designed, highly advanced operating rooms, seven richly appointed labor, delivery and recovery rooms, one dedicated C-section operating room, 18 new high-tech private ICU rooms, 23 family centered private rooms, and additional support space.
“This project continues our unending mission to provide the highest quality care available to our patients,” said Riverside President and CEO Phil Kambic. “Our service area continues to grow, and this project will allow us to accommodate that growth,” he added.
“Over the past several years we have made significant investments in state-of-the-art technology that allows us to provide a better, safer experience to the patient,” Kambic said. “The East Tower addition continues Riverside on that journey and will improve the Kankakee county healthcare experience not only for the patient but their family and friends as well.”
Located on the east side of the southern Chicago healthcare campus, the new tower will create 160,000-square-feet of new space with over 45,000-square-feet of current hospital space being renovated. Existing surgery areas, cardiac cath labs and labor and delivery areas will be upgraded.
Johnson-Downs Construction of Kankakee serves as construction manager for the project.
Riverside broke ground on the East Tower in late July of 2009. To view more construction updates, visit Riverside on the web at www.RiversideMC.net. For more information about the quality services offered by Riverside Medical Center, visit www.RiversideMC.net or call (815) 933-1671.